Gun Barrel City passes resolution urging residents to buy a firearm

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The mayor says he came up with the idea of drafting the resolution in response to the national debate over stricter gun control laws after the December mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., school.

Gun Barrel City is a town living up to its name.

The Gun Barrel City Council unanimously passed on Tuesday night a nonbinding resolution that urges the town's 5,000-plus residents to buy a firearm if they don't already own one as a way to show support for the Second Amendment.

In a phone interview Tuesday night, Mayor Paul Eaton told NBC 5 that he came up with the idea of drafting the resolution in response to the national debate over stricter gun control laws after the December mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., school.

Other council members supported the resolution, and the measure passed without opposition Tuesday night.

While several Texas sheriff's departments and some municipalities have openly said that any federal gun control legislation would not be enforced in their corners of Texas, this is the first time a city has encouraged residents to arm themselves in opposition to the proposed legislation.